Toyota preps solid-state batteries for ’20s

Cells pack more power than lithium ion units
TOKYO — Toyota Motor Corp. says it has made major advances in developing smaller, more powerful solid-state batteries as the next-generation power pack to succeed lithium ion battery technology.

The new batteries, which have more than twice the energy density of lithium ion units, could power electric vehicles more than 300 miles on a single charge and enter production in the early 2020s, top engineers at the company said.

Since 2012, Toyota has managed a fivefold increase in the power output of its experimental solid-state batteries, Senior Managing Officer Soichiro Okudaira told a conference here.

The current coin-sized cell is still in the laboratory stage. But Toyota expects the technology to be ready for cars in the early 2020s, Hideki Iba, general manager for the Japanese carmaker’s battery research division, said separately.

Toyota detailed its developments at Automotive World, an annual engineering and technical conference in Tokyo.

Solid-state batteries could herald a breakthrough in electrified driving because they are more compact and offer higher power output and energy density than today’s batteries.
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